Stout talked of creating several new positions when the school board held a five hour retreat this week.
Stout said he wanted to create "a CEO for the high school," a person who would be over all the administration and facilities and that could assist principals and teachers with any of a number of issues, including curriculum.
No salary for the position was discussed. Several school board members said they would like to study the idea.
Stout also said that there was a need for a grant writer, a position he will hold interviews for in the next few weeks.
Most board members agreed that the position was important.
A third position he wanted was a curriculum person for K-8.
Stout said this position, if the board decides to create it, should be brought in by the Spring as the school system is looking at overhauling its reading curriculum.
He also stressed the importance of finding a replacement for Associate Superintendent Rick Watkins.
The one issue with these hires is money.
Stout said the school would need to find a way to fund each of these positions in house and can not ask the county for additional moneys.
The grant writer "would have to be hired, then write them-self into a grant," Stout said.
The board also heard a recommendation from Tony Messer, the new finance officer on making its financial system more efficient.
Messer said the system could use technology to cut back on paper , a move he says could save the school system considerable money.
Messer said personnel would be allowed to have cards— similar to charge card— that could be used specifically for their programs, something the finance department would evaluate and sign off on after they are billed at the end of the month.
The finance officer said it would eliminate the need for the system to compensate employees for purchases.
"We don't have to hold our principals hostage" with their credit card purchases, Stout said.
Second, Messer wants to set up electronic payments for many of the bills the school pays.
He talked about having a third-party making the payments throughout the month and paying a single check to the credit agency at the end of each month, preventing the need for hundreds of checks.
Messer says these two moves will both increase liquidity of funds as purchases will be paid for at the end of a 30-day billing cycle and reduce paper as fewer forms and checks will need to be used.
The reduction of paper, Messer says, both makes transactions easier to track by finance staff and saves money as fewer checks and forms need to be printed.
Messer also suggested the board move towards electronic pay stubs for its 1,200 employees.
He said the electronic payments would automatically be deposited in the workers accounts, reducing the number of checks being printed.
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